School choice and Florida school vouchers identifying perceptions and attitudes of public school personnel, parents, and students in a northwest Florida school district /

by Webster, Mary Carolyn

SCHOOL CHOICE AND FLORIDA SCHOOL VOUCHERS: IDENTIFYING PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES OF PUBLIC SCHOOL PERSONNEL, PARENTS, AND STUDENTS IN A NORTHWEST FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICT Carolyn Walters Webster Attitudes and concerns of public education stakeholders regarding Florida’s statewide voucher program were the focus of this research. Participants in the study included public school administrators (n = 15), teachers (n = 134), parents (n = 37), and students (n = 47), who responded to a Likert-type survey. The survey consisted of 39 quantitative items related to school reform and choice, school vouchers, and Florida’s voucher program, plus an open-ended qualitative question in which respondents addressed personal concerns. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and a Tukey HSD post-hoc test. Statistically significant results were obtained on 34 out of the 39 survey items indicating differences in respondents’ level of agreement with the survey issues. Respondents’ personal concerns were determined from the open-ended discussion question. 7